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The PALP Festival celebrates the music, culture and gastronomy of the Swiss canton of Valais in a series of events held across the summer from April to September.
PALP is a wonderful Alpine music festival which was started a dozen years ago by Sébastien Olesen to showcase what the region has to offer. From small origins it has grown into a major, and ground breaking, festival.
The festival is as wide ranging as it is eclectic, with performances and exhibitions held in Roman ampitheatres, people’s flats, vineyards, in ski lifts and at the top of the mountain.
Main events during the summer festival include Roclette and Electroroclette, combining music and food.
PALP in the Mountains
Quite literally the high spot of the festival is the festival in the Alps.
In 2022, this was guitar concert by Los Hermanos Gutiérrez, two brothers from Ecuador, held at Becs de Besson, some 2,985 metres above the city of Sion. Festivalgoers have to trek up – and down – the mountain to listen to the concert, as our editor Mark Bibby Jackson discovered.
PALP Festival Schedule
Highlights of the 2024 festival include:
Palp Festival Rocklette 2024
On 3 to 4 and 7 to 11 August 2024 at Couvert du Goly (unless stated) in Val de Bagnes. The following is the schedule for Rocklette 2024:
3 August : 12:30 – 13:30 Sacri Monti; 14:15 – 15:30 Brant Bjork trio; 16:30 – 18:00 Night Beats
4 August : 12:30 – 13:15 Earth Tongue; 14:00 – 15:15 Wine Lips; 16:15 – 17:45 Osees
7 August : 13:00 – 14:00 Siena Root; 14:45 – 16:45 Colour Haze
8 August : 12:30 – 13:30 El Perro; 14:15 – 15:30 Crows; 16:30 – 17:45 C.O.F.F.I.N
9 August : 12:30 – 13:15 Oakhead; 14:00 – 15:00 HotWax; 16:00 – 17:30 Black Mountain
10 August at Col du Lein : 12:30 – 13:15 E-L-R; 14:00 – 15:15 Black Rainbows; 16:00 – 17:30 Gnome
11 August at Col du Lein : 12:30 – 13:15 Velvet Two Stripes; 14:00 – 15:00 The Picturebooks; 16:00 – 17:30 Wolfmother.
Tickets for Rocklette 2024 can be bought here.
Electroroclette
On 17 and 18 August 2024 in La Chaux, Verbier.
Tickets for PALP Festival 2024
You can purchase tickets here
Things To Do in Valais
There is so much culture in the region – not all of it at the top of a mountain. Discover what to do in Valais by following Mark Bibby Jackson’s trip there discovering its high culture. Alternatively, you can find the local Valais Wallis tourism website.
PALP Festival Switzerland
You can find all there is to know about the Swiss festival at the official website.
Main image of Los Hermanos Gutiérrez concert in the Alps photo: Mark Bibby Jackson.
